Electrically heated necktie press



Oct. 16, 1934. A. LAKE 1,977,442

ELECTRICALLY HEATED NECKTIE PRESS Filed Oct. 16. 1931 INVENTOR l fry/)3; Ala/re -,1 draw?" ATTORNEY5 Patented Oct. 16, 1934 PATENT OFFICE 1,977,442 ELECTRICALLY HEATED NEQKTIE PRESS Irving A. Lake Mount Vernombl. Y. Application October 16, 1931, Serial No. 569,180 i V 6 Claims. (Cl. 219-19) This invention relatesto electrically heated necktie presses or restorers, and has for its obiect certain improvements in electrically heated necktie presses or restorers. V

Various devices have been placed on-the market with which to take creases'out of neckties and the like. These have forthe most part consisted of fiat unitary sheet metal tonguesor bent wires adapted to fit inside a necktie. In this practice, the device actually consists of a frame over which the creased tie may be tightly stretched, It is not uncommon practice to moistenthe tie and then to let it dry over the inserted frame. As a result of this procedure, the creases are removed. This wetting and drying procedure consumes considerable time, and the practice has not been foundsatisfactory. I

- It. has also been proposed to construct necktie presses or restorers that are electrically heated. Thatis to say, the press or restorer is provided with an extended electric resistance element, the terminals of which contact with or are connected to leads of insulated current-carrying wires connecting with a source of electric current. Trouble has been experienced in designing the electric resistance element so that it will not contact 'with metal and thus establish a short cir-. cuit. This means :that the resistance element itself may contact at pointsto establish an undesirable short circuit; or the resistance element, when mounted in a metallic covering, may con tact with metal of the covering. The present invention relates to improvemen in electrically heated necktie presses or restorers that are adapted to avoid for thejmost partthe difficulties heretofore encountered in the manufacture of such devices. A construction is con-e templated that permits :the manufacture ofthe presses or restorers economically and. in a man-1 ner toavoid short circuits. a b According to the present invention, an elec-. trically heated necktie press or restorer, is contemplated that comprises a combination-of an electric resistance element mounted loosely within folds of heat-resistant sheet-,materialextendinglengthwise of the interior of thepress; the foldsof the heat-resistant sheet-materialscoven ing the resistance element tokeep it out of contact with outside metal; andswith itself ,;Thepresent preferred embodiment of the, in vention, consists of a tongue=like outer covering, housingor; sheathing, which may advantageous: ly consist of, thin sheet metal, such as aluminum, provided with; a hollow j ;in f v d p d ore: c eend holdihe s s anc e me t m unt in the, unique manner particularly contemplated. The resistance element advantageously, consists of a finely coiled wire mounted loosely within folds of the heat-resistant sheet-material extending lengthwise 'of the interior of the press. It is preferably stretched around the extreme end of the heat-resistant sheet-material, so that the ends of the resistance wire are located at the other end of the sheet material; where they are attached'in electrical contact with the ends of insulated wires adapted'to be connected with a source of electric current supply. The far ends of these wires are preferably attached toa plug that may be inserted ina current supply socket.

The heat-resistant sheet-material is of a size 0 preferably adapted to fit substantially snugly withinthe press. The sheet-material may consist of a single sheet, the opposite side portions of which are provided with reversed folds to give three thicknesses of material. In this practice, the inside edges of the folded portions are advantageously disposed immediately adjacent one another either contacting with or spaced from one another, as desired. The outer edges of the folded portions may be disposed at substantially the same distance from the longitudinal center of the sheet. All of the lines of fold may be substantially adjacent to one another.

In the present. preferred practice, registering slots or slits are provided in ornear lines of fold at the upper and lower ends of the sheet to give a recessedsupport for the electric resistance element,"to keep'the element out of contact with outside metal. i

In another's'pecific application of the invention theheat-resistant material may consist of two sheets, the sheets being superposed to form a doume: thickness; and the'sheets being attached to oneanother along their longitudinal centers. In this cdnst'ruction',.the pair of superimposed insulation-sheets may be connected along their longitudinal centers; the top sheet being narrower than the bottomone, if desired,better,to fit with in the outer casing of the press.

The,outer metal casing, housing, sheathing or tongue. advantageously comprises a lower flat sheet while the upper sheetis arched; as more particularly shown in the attached drawing. These two sheets are complementary to one another, and the outer edges of the lower sheet are so bent-over in relationto the outer edges of the upper sheet :that they are permanently joined and secured to one another; while giving substantially smooth surfaces. Aspointed out above, these '11 joined metal sheets advantageously form a tongue adapted to fit into a necktie, such as a four-inhand. The upper end of the tongue terminates in a relatively narrow portion, while the lower end of the tongue is broader, to conform with the broader lower ends of neckties.

A handle is preferably permanently attached to the lower end of the tongue. This handle may consist-ofstamped fiber sheet material' curved to conform to a convenient hand grip. Two'such stamped fiber sheets are complementarily-joined to one another, but with a space between them adapted for the support and maintenance of the insulated wires that connectwiththe electrie re,-

sistance element confined within the folds of the heat-resistant sheet-material; which sheet-ma terial is in turn supported within the hollow in; terior of the tongue portion of the press.

The present invention will undoubtedly be bet ter understood if reference is made to theaccom; pa i s dra g. a in c nju c i n with h fOllOWlIlg'QBSCliPtiOll, in'which'z' j Fig. 1 shows a full, length .plan] view, partly in Section. of an s mbled e ectric y heated n cks tie. Dress or' store'r llus rativeo ap acticc of the invention; 1 i Fig; 2 is a lo g tu inal; rossrsecti i onthe line 2+ of Fi .1; 1

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-section on the. line. 3-3 of Fi j, h w .l lie interior construction of a preferred embodiment 'of the invention;,

Fig. 4; is a, View in perspective, and partly in. section, of a preferred form of heat-resistant sheet-material; in which is. loosely mounted a heat resistant element; g V Fig. 5 is a transverseseetionof the heatefisistant sheet-material more. particularly shown inFigs. 3 and4';

F 61s a p an view inpart of an uii-bent se tion of the heat-resistant sheet-material shown inFigs.l-to5,., Fig. '1 is, a modified form, of the, heat-resistant "sheet-material constructionin which the folded p rtion 0 'a t 0 gadiacen olds; but. in which the folded portions are narrower than the ma n body porti n;

8 s o her mod ficdi rm or, the same. g n al typ fh at-r sistant sheet-mat rial constru ti n'. but. inwh ch' the fo ds. are spaced from ne another; and r F 9. shows ano her snccificfqrm. fheat-re si ta t heet-material. onstruction. consistin of. a pair of superposed heat resistant. sheets atiache t ne ano her .alc s. thei lon itudin cen er The electrically heated necktie press orirestqir shown, comprises a tongue :10, preferably tapered; as indic,ated, ;-and to which is. attached a handle I1 Insulated electric wires 12 extend; lengthwise through thelongitudina'l center of the handle and. r a ach d t' e n s" it ,acoiled, he

resistance element 13 loosely" supported ormount ed within-the folds of a he'at-resistant sheet mate The tapered tongue portioncoinprises a" lower smooth flatshe'et metal element" 15,; the outer edges "16 of which arefbent over'to receive the outer edges J 17 of an arched" aupp'er sheet metal element 18." I-The sheet metal -employed 'advanta geously consists of thin aluminum, or other suit able sheet. metal; A metal s houldbe selected that is substant a ly.-r st proc and. wh h mas h mad to. ret inasiibsta ti y smoct cut S face. As 'morepar'ti'cularly shown the are provided with reversed folds 21 and 22; 23

and 24,, respectively, to give three thicknesses of material. The inside edges 25 and 26 of the folded portions are disposed immediately adjacent, to one another. Spaces 27 and 28, respectively, are provided on the inside of the folded portions, adapted to receive the heat resistance element 13. I r

- If reference is now madeto 4, it will'be seen that the heat resistance element 13 is mounted loosely within the folds of the-heat-resist'ant sheet-material. The approximate central por-' tionof the resistant element fits throughaslotted orrecessed'portion '29. It 'will-be seen that this slotted portion consists of registering slots or slits provided in or near adjacent lines of fold at each end of the sheet to-givc a recessed support for the electric resistance element and to keep the same out of contact with outside metal. The slits or slots are provided by cutting the sheet within what will be the second thickness of the finished mounting-j as indicated by the heavy line a in Fig. 6. This practice makes for two opposing flapsb and c that fit under one another to form a ship-lap joint that will completely cover the electric resistancecoil when mounted in itsproper-posi-tion; 17f 1 i The electric resistance element and its protecti ve covering are shown in positions within the tongue, in Fig. I. It. will be noticed that. the up per end of the heat-resistant. sheet-material cons tacts with the sides of the interior of the tongue. While this is not absolutely necessary, such a.con-. struction tends tokeep the electric resistance element and its mounting ina fixed position. The ends of the heatresistance element connect with-the ends of the insulated wires 12. Due. to the rigidity offered by the insulated wires, held imposition in the handle portion 11, the lower end of the heat-resistant sheetematerial element is kept-in a substantially fixed position; Inspec tion of Fig.3: will show how the foldsof the. heatresistant sheet-material encompass the electric resistance-wirecoi-l', to'keep the'coil. out of con.- tact with the metal elements of the tongue and to keep the coil ou-t-of' contactwith itself; It will also'be noticed that: when the. coil is mounted within the folds, that. thef'old portions tend, to.

ceive and retain theiinsulatcd wires;-12'.' These. superposed handle-portions areprefera'bhp' riveted to the l'owe r' end' of the-tonguelo by means. of 7 countersunk rivets 33. 'The lower end'sf of the handle portions} 3 are likewise preferably riveted togetherby countersunkirivets 34 f mm, Band 9 illustrate'variouemodifieations ted of practices of the invention involving mountings for the electric resistance element. In the case of the mountings shown in Fig. '7, the upper folds 35 and 36, respectively, do not extend to the side edges of the lower body portion 27. The construction shown is otherwise essentially the same as that shown in Fig. 5.

In the case of the mounting shown in Fig. 8, the upper fold portions are separated by a space 37. The upper fold portions may or may not, as desired, be made to extend to. the outside edges of the lower body portion.

The mounting shown in Fig. 9 is to be distinguished from that shown in Figs. 5, 7 and 8 in that two superposed sheets are employed, the sheets being attached to one another approximately along their longitudinal centers. The construction shown comprises a lower sheet 38 and a superposed upper sheet 39. In one specific application of the invention, the lower sheet 38 is broader than the upper sheet 39. Spaces are of course provided between the sidefolds of the sheets for mounting the electric resistance element loosely. The pair of superposed sheets may be attached to one another in any convenient manner. For example, the sheets may be sewed to one another along their longitudinal centers by means of threads 40. The means employed to attach the superposed sheets should be such as to resist disintegration when the electric resistance element is heated. If the means for attaching the sheet, such as threads, become disintegrated, the electric resistance element will come v together; which is to be avoided.

versed folds forming at least three thicknesses of material, and an electric resistance element loosely mounted between folds of said sheet material, said sheet material having registering slots provided in adjacent lines of fold at one end of the sheet to give a recess support for the electric resistance element and to keep the element out of contact with outside metal.

2. In an electrically heated necktie press, the combination of an elongated casing having a part thereof of generally outwardly-convex formation in transverse cross section, layers of elongated heat-resistant sheet material extending lengthwise of the interior of the casing and underlying at least a part of the convex portion, said layers being spaced from one another and arranged to form at least two generally U-shaped channels, said channels being positioned with their closed ends closest to one another, and an electric resistance element between the folds of the heatresistant sheet materialand covered thereby, the combined thickness of the heat-resistant sheet material and the electric resistance element being sufficiently great that the free ends of the sheet material defining the U-shaped channels are forced towards each other by the convex portion of the casing to cause said ends of the sheet material to at least partially enclose the electric resistance element.

3. In an electrically heated necktie press, the combination of an elongated casing having a part thereof of generally outwardly-convex formation in transverse cross section, a single sheet of heatresistant sheet material extending lengthwise of the casing and having opposite side portions reversely folded to form at least three folds of material with at least two folds of the material being spaced to form channels, said folded sheet material at least in part underlying the convex portion of the casing, an electric heat resistance element mounted loosely in said channels, the combined thickness of the heat-resistant sheet material and the electric resistance element being sufficiently great that the ends of the folds defining the channels are forced toward each other by the convex portions of the casing to at least partially enclose the electric resistance element.

4. In an electrically heated necktie press, the combination of a casing, a single sheet of heatresistant material extending lengthwise of the casing, said sheet having opposite side portions each provided with longitudinally-extending reversed folds so that the material is twice doubled back upon itself to form at least three thicknesses of material, one fold of each side portion extending outwardly and being unattached to adjacent folds except along its fold line, and an electric resistance element loosely mounted between said last-mentioned folds and next adjacent folds.

5. In an electrically heated necktie press, the combination of a casing, a single sheet of heatresistant material extending lengthwise of the casing, said sheet having opposite side portions each provided with longitudinally-extending reversed folds so that the material is twice doubled back upon itself to form at least three thicknesses of material, one fold of each side portion extending outwardly and being unattached to adjacent folds except along its fold line, and an electric resistance element loosely mounted between said last-mentioned folds and next adjacent folds, the inside edges of the folded portions being disposed adjacent one another.

6. In an electrically heated necktie press, the combination of a casing, a single sheet of heatresistant material extending lengthwise of the casing, said sheet having opposite side portions each provided with longitudinally-extending reversed folds so that the material is twice doubled back upon itself to form at least three thicknesses of material, one fold of each side portion extending outwardly and being unattached to adjacent folds except along its fold line, and an electric resistance element loosely mounted between said last-mentioned folds and next adjacent folds, the outer edges of the folded portion being disposed at substantially the same distance from the longitudinal center of the sheet.

IRVING A. LAKE. 

